Service Law – Appointment – On Compassionate grounds – Father of respondent died in harness – Respondent applied for employment on compassionate grounds – Though respondent was qualified for the post of Junior Assistant since there was no vacancy in the post, he was given an option of either accepting the post of Record Clerk or of waiting his turn in seniority on compassionate grounds until a vacancy arose in the post of Junior Assistant – Respondent accepted the post of Record Clerk and was appointed with an undertaking that he would not claim the post of Junior Assistant – Subsequently however, the respondent instituted writ petition u/Art.226 of the Constitution seeking a revision of his appointment from the post of Record Clerk to the post of Junior Assistant with effect from the date of his initial appointment and for subsequent promotions by considering the service rendered in the cadre of Record Clerk – Respondent also sought back wages and other monetary benefits – The petition was dismissed by a Single Judge of the High Court – In writ appeal, Division Bench of the High Court reversed the judgment of the Single Judge – Challenge to – Held: The respondent took a conscious decision to avail of a public appointment on compassionate basis by opting to secure an appointment to the post of Record Clerk – Having accepted the appointment, it was not open to the respondent to challenge his appointment and to seek appointment as a Junior Assistant from the initial date of appointment – He was plainly estopped from doing so and could not have been appointed retrospectively to a post in which he had never worked – Division Bench of High Court ordered, in effect that though the respondent was appointed as a Record Clerk and served in that capacity, the appointment should nonetheless be treated as an appointment made to the post of a Junior Assistant from the initial date of appointment as a Record Clerk though without any consequential monetary benefits – Appellants were directed to give promotion from the cadre of Junior Assistant on that basis – Such a course of action is unknown to service jurisprudence – As a result of this direction, others who are similarly circumstanced, those who waited for a vacancy in the Junior Assistant’s post and those who opted another lower post, would be seriously affected by allowing the respondent to claim an undeserved benefit of this nature – Order of Division Bench of High Court set aside.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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